


The Absence of You

by namwhiskey



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Cupid - Freeform, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-31
Updated: 2015-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-27 18:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1719107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namwhiskey/pseuds/namwhiskey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With a bond so strong not even a cupid could completely sever it, Woohyun finds his way<br/>slowly back to where he belongs, beside the man who needs his love the most.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Drawn together.

**Author's Note:**

> Mainly Woogyu, with some 2Woo at the start, YaDong and MyungYeol.

His immediate thought after waking up was that it didn't matter where he was sleeping as long as it was warm and cozy, and it was. There was a light and fuzzy aching feeling running though his body, as if his heart was pumping some dilute acid instead of blood, but his overall feeling was better than what he'd felt in a long time. In his life that felt like paradise for the past year, the dull throbbing in his body now felt strangely pleasant.

"Something wrong, Woohyun?" A tired voice spoke somewhere within close proximity.

What  _was_  wrong? Nothing. Everything felt right.

That's until he realised, when something feels too good to be true there's usually something that's not right. In Woohyun's case it was the fact that he was getting cozy in the arms of a stranger whom he merely met earlier that evening, while his boyfriend was at home alone probably worried sick about him.

"Oh. Man... I'm so sorry." Woohyun blurted and tried to sit up but the loose arm around his waist stopped him.

He was sorry for several things: for being unable to admit that the situation was beyond inappropriate for him, as he shouldn't be leading someone on like this when he's in a relationship himself. Then he was sorry for waking him in the middle of the night, and for probably being the reason this stranger had opted to sleep on the couch with him instead of his own bed, even if that choice wasn't entirely his fault.

As he recalled the reason that the ended up on the couch in the first place, he was also sorry for passing out on him out of nowhere earlier that evening.

_I'll go home now, so you can go sleep in your bed,_  Woohyun wanted to tell the stranger, but the words didn't come out of his thoughts, and his thoughts were cut by a soft chuckle. "You don't need to be sorry." The stranger's voice was laced with not only tiredness but something else as well, which took a minute for Woohyun to decifer. "Stay."

He tightened his arm around Woohyun slightly, and then probably fell asleep soon afterwards because he didn't say anything else until morning.

_Possessive. Insistent._

That was it.

And Woohyun stayed, just as he had asked him to.

 

The stranger's name was Kim Sunggyu.

Woohyun found that out briefly after falling into a pile of snow with him that evening when he was on his way home to his loving boyfriend after work. He had slipped on the ice, startled when Sunggyu had caught him staring, and accidentally pulled him down with him. Then, instead of asking him to get off him, Woohyun asked for his name. Naturally it seemed more ridiculous to him now than at the time of enquiry.

He didn't remember standing up afterwards; he just remembered waking up in Sunggyu's living room, on the couch across a warm fireplace, which had almost gone out by then. Not to forget the most significant part: he was snuggled up in Sunggyu's arms like it was his rightful place.

The fact that it felt like his rightful place might have explained why he felt inclined to greet Sunggyu good morning with coffee and freshly made scrambled eggs for breakfast instead of sneaking out like he might have done in any other situation like that. As this still wasn't a plausible reason for his actions, he instead told Sunggyu he did it because it simply wouldn't be nice to just sneak out, and that it would feel like a one-night-stand.

That was the second time he got Sunggyu to smile that morning, the first being moments before he said  _good morning_.

Sunggyu was very pleasant towards him all morning, not at all what Woohyun would have naturally expected from a stranger who had been forced to bring a pitiful, sleeping man home. But just as he was about to leave Sunggyu's house, Woohyun remembered something else about last night.

He hesitated for a moment, but decided to ask about it anyway before leaving.

"Yesterday... did you kiss me?"

Sunggyu nodded, calmly with a hint of a smile, and added jokingly. "I wonder if that's why you passed out?"

Woohyun didn't want to make things awkward and joked along, "Yeah, it makes sense so it must have been."

It wasn't the first time Woohyun had passed out like that. In the beginning he believed it was because of the cold, like maybe his body was weak, but it also happened at work last week while he was taking a customer's order; he had to sit down for a moment and eventually lost consciousness altogether. His boss nearly fired him.

Woohyun took one last look at Sunggyu and smiled. "Goodbye, Sunggyu."

Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him but it looked like Sunggyu had something to say to him. Instead he smiled back gently and waved goodbye.

 

Jang Dongwoo was a gentle soul with a personality like an angel; he didn't have a mean bone in his body.

Every step that Woohyun took closer to home put some extra weight in his chest.  _Guilt_. Yes, he was feeling awfully guilty towards his loving boyfriend, but he knew Dongwoo wouldn't jump to conclusions about him staying out all night without calling.

And yet, that just made him feel worse. Like he was taking advantage of naive kindness.

It didn't surprise him when Dongwoo almost tackled him to the floor the moment he entered their apartment. Dongwoo had always been very particular about calling or texting when one stays out too long so that the other doesn't worry; it was like a promise they made between each other—a promise that Woohyun broke for the first time.

"I'm so glad nothing happened to you. I thought something was wrong when you didn't answer my calls but then Hoya found your phone on the floor in our room, so that explained it." He ignored it when Woohyun raised his brow at his words, and pecked his lips quickly and hugged him. "Have you eaten?"

"I don't know, I'm not really hungry right now.  _Hoya_  was here?" He asked with a certain tone in his voice, signifying typical jealousy.

" _Is_." Dongwoo admitted. "I was worried about you, and he offered to stay and keep me company..." At that moment, Hoya walked in, waving his hand as a greeting. "We're heading to the studio in a while. Get some rest. You must be exhausted, right?"

Woohyun smiled at hearing his boyfriend's familiar caring tone, and nodded as Dongwoo squeezed his waist.

"Aren't you going to tell us where you were?"

It was so  _typical_  of Hoya to point out the one thing Woohyun was happy to have avoided until that point. Just when he was appreciating the fact that Dongwoo didn't ask him to explain why he was returning home so late, it was his best friend who decided to ask.  _So typical._  Woohyun shook his head at him, and luckily Dongwoo didn't seem to want to pry.

Hoya didn't seem very happy with that though. In fact, he was annoyed and didn't even try to hide it. Woohyun ignored it, and turned his gaze back to his man standing next to him; it suddenly made sense to him why Hoya felt so annoyed with him as he noticed obvious signs of sleep deprivation on Dongwoo's face.

As there was still roughly two hours before Dongwoo had to leave for the studio with Hoya, he wordlessly invited him to go rest with him until then.

Of course, Dongwoo didn't object, more than happy to cuddle with Woohyun until they fell asleep.

 

_"Let's dance."_

_Woohyun ran the tips of his fingers gently along the piano player's collarbones, stopping at his shoulders before squeezing them. His lips curved mischievously into a half-grin when the pianist shot him a frustrated stare as if to ask him why of all times did he decide to turn on his own music while he was practicing; the loud music blocked out the sounds of his playing. He needed to practice; it was part of his daily routine and Woohyun knew that. Still, he could not help himself when an exciting idea popped up in his mind. Woohyun's eyes brightened when the pianist accepted his outstretched hand, allowing him to pull his love close._

_Then, they danced._

_While Woohyun had learned some moves after observing his best friend's dance practices from time to time, this pianist was clearly much better with his hands than the rest of his body. In a way, this created an even more exciting synchronization between the two lovers than that of two professional dancers. Not breaking their gaze for even a moment, they simply went along with the sexy and latin-like seductive tunes filling the room. Their smiles and movements manifested exactly what Woohyun had had in mind when he came up with this spontaneous idea. He spun him around once, breaking their eye contact briefly, then pulled him closer again._

_Breathless, the pianist attempted to close the gap between their lips only to be once more spun around so that his back was against Woohyun's chest. "Told you it would be fun, right?" Woohyun whispered. He felt the pianist's hands on his arms around him, caressing him gently before pulling away and looking at him again, with his eyes hooded as a mischievous smile was now dancing on his face too._

_Woohyun knew that smile well._

 

"Woohyun! Baby, wake up." As he opened his eyes slowly, for a brief moment Woohyun couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment seeing Dongwoo's face instead of his pianist's. But then, he smiled, trying to grab him and pull him back to bed.

"‘Morning sunshine."

"Evening you mean?” Dongwoo laughed his adorable giggle-like laughter that Woohyun loved. "Come on Woohyun. Get up. I'm late, and you'll be late too if you don't start getting ready."

"I'm working tonight?" Woohyun scratched his head, yawning. He must have gotten a little over two hours sleep, he guessed. "Is Hoya still here?"

"No. He left just a minute ago. Said it would be better if he wasn't here when you wake up." Knowing his best friend, Woohyun had a feeling Hoya had meant for Dongwoo to keep that to himself. He smiled at his adorably oblivious boyfriend, but at the same time there was something nagging in his chest.

Why did Dongwoo wait for Hoya to leave before he woke him? And for how long was Dongwoo awake?

Not to mention, what went on last night when they were together and Woohyun was away?

He shook those thoughts out of his head and sat up just as Dongwoo threw him a pair of jeans and a T-Shirt before leaving the room again in a hurry. He then heard him shout from another room, "I decided to let you sleep a bit longer since you seemed to have a nice dream; you wouldn't wake up the first time I tried to wake you." The suspicions left Woohyun's mind, finally enabling him to smile again, just like that.

"What did you dream about anyway?" Dongwoo said, as he returned to the room.

"I'm not sure." Woohyun said quietly. "I don't remember."

Before making his way to the restaurant he worked at, Woohyun decided to walk his boyfriend to work. Dongwoo was a dancing instructor at the underground dance place Hoya also went to. That's where he and Dongwoo had first met and fell in love a year ago. Bored and stressed out with work, Woohyun had managed to talk Hoya into letting him into the practice room—not to dance his frustrations and the stress out of his system but to watch the other hot and sweaty dancers practice. Among those hot dancers, Woohyun's eyes had immediately glued onto their instructor, Dongwoo.

"You didn't bring your phone again, you jerk. Sungjong will kill you." Hoya scoffed as soon as Woohyun arrived, smacking his head before smirking. "He sounded pretty pissed off since you're late again."

"Oh. Oh god. Text him and say I'll be there in a minute, okay? Thanks!"

Woohyun kissed Dongwoo quickly before he ran out in a hurry. He didn't care much if he lost his job—honestly speaking, he hated it—but it wasn't easy to find another job and he really needed the money since Christmas time was getting close. In any case, as a rather popular waiter it was pretty clear that his boss wouldn't fire him that easily; in fact, he'd probably resort to giving him a raise if Woohyun had threatened to quit otherwise.

With two weeks until Christmas, the restaurant was getting busier each day.

As the week went by, Woohyun's shifts became longer which meant that he got to spend a lot less time with his boyfriend. He couldn’t deny feeling a knot in his stomach at the thought of Hoya spending more time with Dongwoo than he did, but he trusted them enough to not attack them with accusations.

When Woohyun's boss gave him a sudden day off a week later, he decided to go spend the day with Hoya since by an unfortunate clash of fate Dongwoo was busy that day. In any case, the two friends needed to catch up since they hadn't had the chance to hang out alone together since Woohyun moved in with Dongwoo. A part of him wanted to use this chance to interrogate Hoya about his intentions with Dongwoo, but it wasn't his primary plan.

They spent most of the day reminicing their highschool days; telling each other stories they remembered hearing about one another's 'private tutor sessions' that the both of them had been pretty well known for as the top students of their class. It was a nice reminder, as it showed how much they had both changed—from notorious players to a mostly calm life, with Woohyun settling down with Dongwoo, and Hoya aspiring to become a professional dancing instructor and choreographer. Whether it was Dongwoo who changed Woohyun's attitude towards relationships, Woohyun wasn't entirely sure himself. He just knew that one day he was in love and no one else shone brighter in his eyes than Jang Dongwoo, simple as that.

Everything was cool between the two friends until Hoya brought up a strange topic that made Woohyun feel uneasy for various reasons. He was reminded of that beautiful stranger he met recently. It then also occurred to him that Sunggyu had not crossed his mind even once since that day, which was bizarre to say the least.

"Did you know that a sure sign of true love is when their every kiss turns you on?"

The fact that Kim Sunggyu was the first person to pop into Woohyun's mind startled him both breathless and speechless. There had been only one kiss, and he had fainted almost immediately afterwards so he didn't really even remember it. "Come on, Hoya. That's ridiculous."

"It's true." Hoya said seriously, "You're the one who told me that."

True enough, it sounded like something Woohyun would observe, and also feel the need to inform his best friend about, but why didn't he remember it? Before he could ask, Hoya bomboarded him with the question that once again shot his thoughts back to a time not too long ago, when he was kissing his dream pianist.

"Do you feel that way when you kiss him?"

"Well, yeah. I, I mean I guess so." He raised his sholders and then lowered them again, and Hoya pointed out that he sounded unsure. Shaking the thoughts of Sunggyu and that pianist out of his head, Woohyun knew Hoya had meant Dongwoo so he answered less hesitantly and laughed. "He's just too cute sometimes though, right?"

"So you don't believe in it anymore?"

"Well, I don't feel that with Dongwoo, and what we have is truer than true love, so it's clearly not true right?" Woohyun reasoned with convincing seriousness.

Hoya shrugged his shoulders. "But I do."

_Do what? Believe it? Feel that way?_  It took a moment before Woohyun realised what he had meant. When he did, he was about to either begin his interrogation or flat out punch him in the face. Instead, he laughed. "Right. Because everyone you ever kissed during highschool was your true love, right?"

Implying that Hoya was just genuinely horny all the time.

Hoya narrowed his eyes at Woohyun, cocking an eyebrow. "Obviously not you though?"

"Really? Ouch…" Woohyun joked, pretending his pride was hurt, but couldn't help but chuckle at the same time. As soon as he noticed the seriousness return to Hoya's face he spoke up again. "Look, I know what you were trying to say."

"What?"

"Just stop talking about it before I get angry."

Although his voice sounded the same as before, light-hearted and carefree just like during their earlier conversations, there was something unmistakably darker in his tone, and Hoya seemed to know better than to challenge it.

When Hoya dropped the topic afterwards and apologized for bringing it up, Woohyun felt relieved. He appreciated Hoya for valuing their friendship; but then he felt the pang of guilt. Hoya was doing something he had  _not_  done, and that's giving up on love for his friend's sake. 

 

When Woohyun went to work the next day, his boss told him to take the day off again. He'd have been really happy about that if only Dongwoo had also been free that day but luck never seemed to be on his side, so he stayed at home, sleeping, and watching television. The following day he was told to take another day off. Then he was told to stop coming to work altogether—for a while at least.

Woohyun would have been surprised but Sungjong had done this before; his tolerance towards him was very fragile. Still, he promised to let him come back to work around mid-January. His reason for this temporary firing was that he was tired of looking at Woohyun's stupidly handsome face and needed a break from it—his words, not Woohyun's. He already found a new handsome face to work for him; so losing Woohyun for half a month wasn't a huge loss for Sungjong.

On his way home that day whist thinking of how to tell his lover he was unemployed again, Woohyun's legs carried him towards where the beautiful stranger lived instead, entirely against his consious wishes. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Sunggyu, but he felt like he might be bothering him if he suddenly stopped by.

Before he could convince his body to turn back however, he had already knocked on the door and watched an angel open it for him. He smiled. "Hi. I'm so cold, Sunggyu. I think I'll faint again. Help me?" He let his body fall forward, blindly trusting Sunggyu to catch him, and it didn't surprise him when he did; he just knew he would, somehow. He smiled wider as he was embraced by Sunggyu's warmth, and almost told him he missed him.

Sunggyu smirked, "Okay, come inside then. I'll make some tea and then we'll see what else I can help you with."


	2. Fates Colliding.

_“Come inside then. I'll make some tea and then we'll see what else I can help you with.”_

Sunggyu's words made Woohyun unbelievably happy; he couldn't seem to stop smiling as he waited in the living room. Sunggyu's place felt like a haven, warm and cozy, and Woohyun felt at home, even if it was just his second time there. It felt like Sunggyu  _was_  his home, like he's where he belonged.

Soft music started playing in the background. Woohyun waited by the piano in the living room, watching the silent television on the other side of the room, which Sunggyu seemed to have muted when he had heard his knocks on the door. The music was getting louder. Woohyun closed his eyes tiredly for a moment, and opened them again a minute later. 

What happened next was like a continuation of his dream from a couple of nights ago.

Woohyun had his pianist in his arms who then leaned in to kiss him. 

But this time, the pianist was Sunggyu. 

The elder male lifted him effortlessly up in his arms, Woohyun's knees around his hips and his arms around his neck, before putting him down on the couch and crawling on top of him. Sunggyu's lips never seemed to leave Woohyun's skin as he caressed every inch of his skin with almost seamless kisses from Woohyun's lips down to his jaw and then his neck. 

Woohyun squirmed a little under him. "I don't want to do this on the couch."

"What then? The floor?"

"No, Gyu." he laughed a bit, "The bed. It's only a few metres down the hall isn't it? Don't be lazy."

Woohyun rolled his eyes and tried to push Sunggyu off of himself, but the elder was too strong, and his hands were too soft, and the way he touched him was too eager, his kisses too passionate, and Woohyun loved this side of Sunggyu too much.

"Do you really want to bother moving to our room?" Sunggyu asked, pulling away from Woohyun a little to see his reaction, having sensed his hesitation just then.

Woohyun shook his head promptly. "Nope. Here is fine."

He curled his fingers behind Sunggyu's neck and pulled him back down into another heated kiss while Sunggyu's hands worked on his mission to unclothe Woohyun. 

 

"Woohyun. Wake up."

"Sunggyu?" Woohyun gripped the elder male's shoulder tightly, pulling himself up on the couch. With eyes wide, he took a deep breath and wiped some sweat off his forehead. Was he sick? He felt hot.

Sunggyu tilted his head a little closer to Woohyun, his expression filled with worry and confusion. 

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Um. Where's the bathroom?"

He couldn't wait for Sunggyu to point him in the right direction before running off and disappearing for twenty minutes. As he stood there, staring at his own reflection, Woohyun could almost still picture the kisses he had dreamt, all over his body. He felt them, too. 

How could that have been a dream. It felt more like a distant memory.

By the time he returned to Sunggyu in the living room, the tea the elder male had prepared for him was luke warm and the man himself was sprawled across the couch leisurely while watching the television. Wordlessly, Woohyun joined him, prompting him to move his limbs a little before sitting down by his side. Suddenly, Sunggyu laughed at something on the television but quickly broke into a fit of coughing as a result. 

"Are you sick?" Woohyun asked, reaching for Sunggyu's forehead. 

"Just a little. Since that day..." Sunggyu coughed again. He didn't have to mention any details about the day because it was obvious it was the day Woohyun accidentally pulled him into the pile of snow with him – the 'falling into the snow, laughing about it, then kissing' scenario from that evening was pretty cheesy now that he thought about it. How long had they lied there before Sunggyu brought them inside his house? Woohyun felt bad about it again.

"Sorry."

Sunggyu just laughed and coughed again at the same time, causing Woohyun to chuckle as well since it sounded funny. "Quit apologizing all the time, Woohyun. It's all you ever say when you're here."

Woohyun grinned playfully, "Yeah, sorry about that. It was my fault though, right?"

"Take responsibility then." Sunggyu suggested.

"Sure, I'll make dinner tonight. How does that sound?"

"Sounds delicious." Sunggyu chuckled, again with some coughs in between. "How have  _you_  been by the way?"

"I've been... I've just... been." Woohyun trailed off, thoughtfully.

For some reason Woohyun couldn't seem to find the words to explain what was going on in his life. It's not that Woohyun didn't want to tell Sunggyu about how bothered he felt about the fact that his best friend was in lust with his boyfriend, or the fact that he even had a boyfriend in the first place, and that this boyfriend would probably cry if he didn't go home soon, or how the cute little demon boss of his had fired him because he was sick of looking at Woohyun's face and needed a month long break from him.

He wasn't trying to hide any of that. It wouldn't bother him if Sunggyu found out he had a boyfriend. He just didn't want to talk about any of those things, not when he was with Sunggyu. Now why would he feel that way? He wasn't unfaithful or anything. He wasn't considering cheating on Dongwoo. Sunggyu was just a cool guy he had wanted to be friends with. That dream meant nothing. It was just –

"Okay." Sunggyu chuckled and coughed again.

"Okay?"

"You seemed to suddenly have a lot on your mind. As if there was a debate going on up there. It's fine if you don't tell me. It's probably none of my business." He smiled that gentle, charming smile that Woohyun suddenly realised he had missed so incredibly much.

He sighed. "Sunggyu. I have a boyfriend." 

Sunggyu didn't say anything. He just smiled a blank smile and nodded.

Woohyun then quickly changed the subject by telling Sunggyu all about his boss, Sungjong, just to move on from the topic of his unavailabilyity as quickly as possible. He could have picked a better topic though than another of his boyfriends, a former one this time.

"It was very unprofessional, right? Don't you think so too? That little demon..." Seeing Sunggyu nod, he continued, "How does one get sick of this anyway?" Woohyun pointed at his face with an incredulous expression, "I'd understand if he said it was because I kept calling him Jongie, which he hates. I think he secrely still fancies me since high school–"

When Sunggyu still didn't say anything, Woohyun kept running his mouth. In fact, the more Sunggyu stayed quiet, the more he started to tell him about himself, his best friend, and how much of players they had been during their high school days. He finally ended the conversation at the topic he had so desparately tried to avoid in the first place – the sweetest and most perfect angel in his life, Jang Dongwoo.

At that point, Woohyun's breath caught in his throat and his heart began to pound against his chest like a marching band, and Sunggyu's unreadable gaze wasn't helping. He couldn't stand it. The emotions that seemed to be more prominent than ever in Sunggyu's eyes now were all mixed and made no sense to Woohyun.

What was strained in Sunggyu's expression was definitely some sort of sadness. It didn't make sense to see such an expression in the eyes of someone who barely knew Woohyun at this stage.

"What was I talking about again?" Woohyun spoke slowly after a moment. 

Sunggyu shrugged lightly, finally looking away. 

Eventually Woohyun just suggested he would start preparing the dinner.

In the end, Woohyun was immensely relieved that he didn't accidentally tell Sunggyu about some of the weirdest thoughts floating about in his mind, such as the strange dreams about Sunggyu, and the time Sunggyu's face popped into his mind the minute Hoya had mentioned the ridiculous myth he made up back in highschool about a true love's kiss.

After dinner, the two watched television together until a programme came on that only Woohyun loved while Sunggyu blatantly hated. It was a show created by two men who clamed to be actual cupids. For each episode they chose three contestants who would go on dates, which would help in guiding them to their one true love. Although the three would have perfect compatibility with each other, only the two who really belonged together would fall in love and leave the show together. As a firm believer of true love, Woohyun was particularly amazed at everything about this show. 

Sunggyu said it was really stupid for two guys to decide who should be together and who shouldn't, and Woohyun didn't understand why Sunggyu felt such strong dislike about a TV show. 

"I'm willing to bet money on it that they're a real couple themselves. I know the taller one from high school."

"Did you date him too?" Sunggyu yawned, seemingly bored with the conversation, but he might have also just been tired from being sick. He laid his head down on Woohyun's lap and mumbled that he was going to nap for a while. 

"I'll wake you up when this ends then... and no, I did  _not_  date him. He was a weird kid and a total nerd, which I wasn't into until college." he smiled at some vague distant memories he couldn't quite grasp in his mind as his hand found its way into Sunggyu's hair before softly stroking through it with his fingers.

Woohyun didn't wake him up immediately after the show was over, because he didn't even get to see the end of it himself.

 

_Into the fire on my own. I know I won't see your face again._  
_Hey... Are you sitting there alone?_  
_Are you thinking like me, of the laughing times?_  
_Of all the sad and loving times?_

He was sitting alone when he heard the song, which seemed to be directed at him. He wasn't thinking of anyone or anything in particular, or at least he wasn't until his mind began to follow this sad story in the form of the song that played on the radio. The white colour on the walls seemingly turned grayish blue in a matter of seconds, and his vision became somewhat clouded and did the room temperature drop too? He shivered slightly, but he wasn't cold. Goose bumps?

Why was it so sad?

Why did it suddenly feel like he missed someone he loved when that person was really just ten steps away from him, in another room. His cheeks became damp and he felt a droplet fall from his chin to his hands before he realised he was crying.

Woohyun tried to blink and clear his vision, but in his subconscious he saw the stream whose dam had been broken down and swept into destruction by a mere song. It was a futile effort from the start, and giving up wasn't just an option but the only option.

_Promise me you'll think of us as a time so wonderful._

"Woohyun?" His love sat down by his side, cautiously reaching for his hand, but the feeling of longing remained in Woohyun's chest and under his skin; perhaps it became even stronger than before. "What's the matter, Woohyun?"

"Dongwoo," another voice, unmistakably belonging to Hoya, spoke from another side of the room. "Turn the radio off." His tone of voice seemed to imply that he knew exactly what had shaken Woohyun up like this, but how could he possibly know when even Woohyun didn't know?

Dongwoo didn't listen to Hoya's seemingly irrelevant demand and instead turned to look at the dazed Woohyun again and squeezed his hands to let him know they were safely in his own, hoping he could bring Woohyun's distant thoughts back to there and then. He was worried to death of what it did to Woohyun's health the way he had so many breakdowns in just two months since they met.

"Are you okay, love?"

_Promise me, promise me._  
_I will be fine without you._  
_Promise me, promise me._  
_Once more in my life to see you._

"I'm not." Woohyun shook his head and finally turned to Dongwoo, allowing him to pull him into a tight hug which sadly didn't comfort him in the slightest. "I'm not fine. It hurts so much."

 

Woohyun woke up in a cold sweat. He vaguely remembered that incident from a time during the start of spring, last year. That incident had been the first time he passed out unexpectedly following a flow of emotionally violent sensations throughout his body; before that, he always snapped out of those fits with the help of Dongwoo's embrace.

What did this mean? Was it connected to Sunggyu somehow? 

He already wondered about it briefly, a lot more than he liked to admit, but always came to the conclusion that it just wasn't possible. This incident was _months_  before he even met Sunggyu.

There was no way it was possible.

That conclusion may have been rather rushed though. Woohyun loved clichés like the ‘what if I have amnesia or something and temporarily forgot about him?’ scenario, which wasn't something that never crossed his mind, but it was so important to get those kinds of thoughts immediately out of his mind so that it wouldn't inhibit his steadily growing friendship with the man.

Because it was becoming more and more precious to him by the day. 

"Woohyun?" Sunggyu mumbled sleepily. "I thought you promised to wake me."

"I did– I mean yes, I promised, but I uh... kind of dozed off as well." he chuckled sheepishly. "Oh, hey, can I ask you something? Why do you hate that cupids' show so much?"

Sunggyu shrugged. "I don't like the way they're manipulating people on the show to be together."

"But that's the point of the show anyway. They're not real cupids anyway so they can't really manipulate love."

"But say they are real cupids..." Sunggyu started to choose his words carefully. "Hypothetically, that means that the couples are manipulated to be together, when they otherwise wouldn't love each other. Right?"

"Isn't that a good thing though? Some people never find real love in this world."

"But what if their real love found  _them_? And suddenly they're cruelly taken away from their arms by the hand of these stupid cupids?" Sunggyu asked, and the seriousness in his tone made Woohyun doubt whether he was really speaking hypothetically anymore, or from experience. "Think about the person who loses the love of his life. What would happen to him?"

"He could find new love." Woohyun said slowly, questioning the probability if his own words, while Sunggyu looked as if these words were knives to him.

Woohyun was a firm believer of true love and destiny, but for some reason he couldn't help but argue with Sunggyu even though he made a good point about the third person who loses. 

"I'll make breakfast." Woohyun offered.

It was primarily to get away from Sunggyu's gaze, the hurt in his eyes was almost suffocating to him.

First, he made his way to the bathroom to wash up since he felt dirty. Instinctively, he grabbed one of the two toothbrushes by the mirror, his disoriented mind making him believe for a moment that it was his own. Then, he went into the kitchen to make breakfast before returning to the living-room where Sunggyu was already getting up and stretching.

"You make the best coffee," Sunggyu said, taking another sip of the hot beverage before flashing him a grateful smile. It was like the earlier conversation was already forgotten, and Woohyun was relieved to put it behind them.

"Really? I hate bitter coffee myself, so I can't tell."

"Then how did you know I don't like sugar or milk in mine?"

Woohyun scratched his head in confusion, "Lucky guess?"

They spent that day watching TV again, and cuddling occasionally when they were lazy and cold; it simply felt like a normal thing to do. Woohyun enjoyed listening to Sunggyu's voice whenever he was singing while tidying the place or washing the dishes. He even tried to harmonize with him, but it didn't quite work out since he didn't know the words. Later, he even got to take a shower there since he was too tired to go home for it – because that seemed like a reasonable excuse – and they both fell asleep on the couch again.

Another day passed and Woohyun was finally beginning to find it strange how comfortable he felt there.

Woohyun never became bored in Sunggyu's house, even if sometimes he and Sunggyu didn't talk at all. He even helped Sunggyu keep the place tidy, and even though it wasn't his own home, it was beginning to feel like it was. Woohyun realised he didn't really want to leave anymore.

Staying another night didn't seem like such a bad idea. And another after that...

 

One morning he woke up to the sound of a crazily familiar tune being played on the piano. Woohyun couldn't recall where he had heard it and it drove him crazy as he continued lying in bed for a little while longer, just listening. There were even words on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't recall the exact sequence. They must have been in english anyway.

Eventually he got up and walked into Sunggyu's room.

"Am I dreaming?" He asked, quietly, approaching Sunggyu from behind while he played.

"Probably." Sunggyu jokingly told him.

Woohyun stepped closer to the piano, which Sunggyu had stopped playing by then but still kept his hands on its keys, staring at it thoughtfully. Woohyun placed his warm right hand on top of Sunggyu's cold one. When Sunggyu looked up in bewilderment, Woohyun leaned down and kissed his lips lightly.

"Want some breakfast?"

"Yes. Sure." Sunggyu replied, sounding very unsure but Woohyun didn't pay attention to it.

The incident seemed to be forgotten by the time they ate breakfast, since neither mentioned anything about it.

"By the way," Sunggyu spoke while picking up the dishes and bringing them to the sink. "I've got to go to work today."

"Work?" Woohyun asked incredulously, almost as if it sounded crazy to him. He blinked, and shook his head, realising it made sense. "Can you ask your boss to give me a job too? I'm so unemployed right now it almost hurts." He joked.

"Sure, I am the boss. Would you like to become my secretary?"

"Oh! Yes please." Woohyun laughed.

"Great. When can you start?"

"Wait. You were serious? Holy shit, are you rich?!" Woohyun looked around, only then seeming to realise that Sunggyu's place looked more like a mansion than a normal house. It made Woohyun's own apartment look like a shed.

Sunggyu just laughed a little and nodded, "Not exactly rich. I mean I didn't buy this place on my own... I used to live here together with someone up until a year ago." He trailed off as he turned off the tap and turned to Woohyun, "So, about becoming my secretary. How about it?"

"I'm not sure if I'm qualified to do that. I don't even have proper experience."

"I'm sure you do. You seem capable, and I'm in need of a secretary since my last one left last Christmas."

"You haven't been able to find a new one for almost a whole year?"

Sunggyu shrugged, "I haven't looked for one."

"And here you are, about to hire a complete stranger who stumbled into your life out of nowhere."

"I wouldn't consider a  _complete_  stranger."

Woohyun didn't take Sunggyu's job offer seriously, and decided to drop the subject. He helped Sunggyu tidy the place a little before they got washed up and properly dressed to go outside. Sunggyu let Woohyun borrow one of his scarves since Woohyun didn't bring one himself when he arrived four days ago.

Four days. That's how long Woohyun had spent with Sunggyu, and it was only when Woohyun stepped outside Sunggyu's place that he realised that he had become too comfortable there; he had started to forget about his own home.

And Woohyun suddenly missed Dongwoo and Hoya, and even his cute little demon boss, Sungjong.

He turned around to tell Sunggyu he needed to get back home, but it seemed like Sunggyu already knew.

Sunggyu stood there with an understanding smile, and nodded. "I'll drive you home if you want."

"It's fine. But I'll visit again soon, alright?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song mentioned/quoted in this chapter is [ Promise Me – Dead by April ] by the way. Just in case anyone was wondering (and because I didn't make it up, so I guess it's a disclaimer). Thanks for reading by the way! There's one more chapter. :)


End file.
